Just a quick tutorial on how to brake effectively while railing dh single track…
Well after a few months of collecting parts off of Craigslist (frame and shock fox 5.0 coil, 7″ travel), wheels (mavic823s and highrollers ust) w hope pro II hubs, Shimano Saint shifters and short cage rear derailleur, from chainreactioncycles.com, Easton monkey bars carbon dh, magura louise 8″/7″, E13 DRS chainguide, 36T-22tt gearing, (chainreactioncycles.com), parts from trailhead cyclery in SJ (twentysix pedals w ith ti spindles, an SLX front derailleur,), WTB saddle with ti rails, and finally the Manitou travis triple 170mm (Ebay), the HL is seen here on its maiden voyage to Demo.
This thing pedals great, it turn on a dime, soaks up all the landings and is confidence inspiring.
More action pics to come (stay tuned)
I’ve been to Demo a couple times since my last report … not much has changed so nothing really to report but conditions are absolutely primo right now. Definitely try to get there if you can … a few pics from last time …
Okay, I slacked off on the last installment of my race report for about 9 months—sue me. Seriously, reg for this year’s race is tomorrow night, 4/1 at 8pm pacific so figured it would be good motivation for those thinking about registering to post this now.
—
On Sunday morning Jdub and I rolled up to Packer Saddle about an hour before our scheduled start times for the DH race. Perfect timing. Crazy scene up there with some folks (pros and experts) opting for full-on skin suits, warming up on trainers, etc. All business.
I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go with the full face and/or pads for the DH. It was kinda chilly at the top—actually, perfect weather all things considered for July—but I knew that the climb up to 3rd was going to be hot. Since I’d never raced the DH I decided to take the safe route with the full face, long sleeve, baggies and 661 knee pads.
In any case the race started soon enough. Jdub took off about 10 minutes before me. My turn finally came and adrenaline pumping, I cranked it. More after the jump.
-
-
CK on 1st Divide
-
-
Jdub on 1st Divide
-
-
Team Hamana guy
Ja-mon and I rolled out to Demo on Sunday. Maiden voyage of his Highline … feel free to post some pics at some point Ja–sick bike. Rolled up to his storage locker at 12:45pm, we weren’t on the road until 2pm due to the shifting issue on the HL.
Get to Demo, gear up and not 5 minutes into the climb the HL has major chain suck. Had to break the chain again to get enough leverage to extract it. Get to the Kiosk, Ja almost eats it on the entry jump after Corral. Flat pedals … said the bike was falling away from him.
We continue to Braille … Braille was sweet as always … about halfway down Ja’s rear derailleur cable has come loose. Who’s the master mechanic here? To make matters worse he’s running a Saint rear derailleur which tries to shield the cable from abuse between the frame and the mech … a good idea. But the cable is secured by a nut that requires an 8mm wrench … fortunately Ja has it on him so we manage to fix it and continue. Tough placement on that nut, gotta say I’m not impressed. Maybe okay for a DH bike at a resort where you can easily get tools, etc, but not good on a backcountry ride.
Ja launched off a pretty big (almost 3′) log ride toward the end of Braille … kinda nose dived it and his Travis saved him from a sure face plant. Nice to have 8″ of dual crown goodness for such instances.
That HL is sick, sick sick. On the climb out I was watching closely as Ja pedaled. Couldn’t detect any bobbing despite not having messed with his propedal settings. Amazing. Now if i could only find a large. Hmm …
I keep feeling better about the RFX with each ride … hitting more stunts at Demo each time out … the stoke is definitely back for me–the fitness, well it’s coming. No pics of demo but I did get a couple pics the last couple days.
On Monday Stone, Dan and I attempted a night ride. The plan was Oyster Point but Dan mentioned that it’s muddy up there. My legs were tired from Demo and five rides into my year I couldn’t climb with Stone and Dan anyway. I didn’t want to hold them up so they went on to Curry Point. I was still tempted by OP and climbed to the top of the singletrack and even started down it a ways but it was not to be … too wet and I didn’t want to damage the trail.
Today I did another short loop with Copper at Del Valle … beautiful day … water levels are high and the trails are in good condition (for EBRPD anyway) … Ja and I are talking about JMP tomorrow, we’ll see … a few pics:
-
-
Obligatory shot of the OP sign
-
-
Sitting on a Park Bench ... with Copper
-
-
Happy woof
-
-
Del Valle ... so green
On Thursday I got on the mountain bike for the first time since the last day at Northstar in the fall (edit: just remembered that Ja and I rode demo in late November). Sweet, but painful solo ride at Demo … rode Braille … downhill felt good at least.
Notice the new 50mm stem on the RFX–really helped the handling tremendously. Amazing what a difference 2cm makes.
Today we rode Del Valle. Trails were in good shape, almost all dry. Note the canonical EBRPD fail shot below. Pics are clickable.
Dan and I spent a couple hours up on the Devil Mtn this morning. 17 mile loop – great ride. Unsure of the conditions, I brought the 29er out – paying dearly for it also. That is a tough place to single speed. Anyway, stopped a few times to take some nature shots. Nothing too special. It was absolutely perfect weather up above the fog layer though. And the trails were in great shape – couple muddy spots, but overall fantastic. I’m thinking weekday night rides are back on!
The XXIX with the Summit in the background
Nature shot
Bridge crossing
Backdrop is the post office across from MSG, photo taken 12/20/2009.
Yeah, it’s been raining here, but we have it pretty good–that Nishiki looks pretty lonely.
Couldn’t stomach another DH run this morning, pun intended. 
